Artificial Fitbit Data for Software Development

In this post we are going deeper in the Dynamic Data project, looking at the Fitbit dynamic data (library available here on GitHub and at NPM). Opening the library, you’ll see there are seven different types of data files: ActivitiesData, ActivitiesSummary, HeartRateData, HeartRateSummary, SleepData, SleepQuality and SleepSummary

Learn more about dynamic data generators and benefits of artificial data in software development.

About the data source?

Fitbit is a brand of smart watch that focuses on fitness tracking, allowing for the monitoring of several metrics:

• Time spent in the different stages (deep, light, rem) of sleep
• Quality of Sleep
• Time spent
• Heart rate data, calories burnt, distance traveled during an activity
  

Approach used

7 separate mockup files were created for the 3 different data objects:

• ActivitiesData
• ActivitiesSummary
• HeartRateData
• HeartRateSummary
• SleepData
• SleepQuality
• SleepSummary

The data model of the above objects can be seen below. These mockup files make up the fitbit-data package.

The fitbit-mockups package imports the aforementioned files and goes through them generating (artificial) new data using proprietary functions, such as those found in the utils package.

For example, with the SleepSummary object:

Static SleepSummary Object

Artifical SleepSummary Object

Use Case Ideas

• Health/Fitness Apps
• data visualization widgets
• etc.

Explore entirely new use cases

• Create a to-do app that hides non-important or not urgent tasks, if your readiness score is low.
• Avatar that reacts to your readiness
• Motivational quotes to you screen depending on your energy level

Ideas to combine with some other data sources

Combing with other Health devices to provide greater context towards some activities e.g. Oura, Garmin, Strava, Whoop.

Or with some entirely different segment data, like air quality, weather, location or similar to find interesting new applications for the data.

Open Source data library

We welcome contributions and forks to this data set, and look forward to seeing what developers build in our Liberty. Equality. Data Slack channel.

Considerations for next version/improvements

General Improvements

• Currently does not reflect the completeness of either the Fitbit Data Export or API
  
• Make calories burnet better reflect the actual cardio performance
  

Object-Specific improvements

• ActivitiesData
  • Allow activityName to be any activity Fitbit allows
    

Join our Slack community; Liberty. Equality. Data. - to ideate and collaborate with other app developers, designers, and our team.